Mass Effect 3: Hunt for Shepard
by ichigokage
Summary: <html><head></head>Angelique Shepard has gone missing shortly after the Collector mission, on a hunch about an upperhand on the Reapers. Garrus, has been left as Commander in her stead and Miranda has a plan to help find Shepard. Kolyat/GruntXOC</html>
1. Chapter 1: Down Shepard, Up Shit Creek

Mass Effect 3: The Hunt for Shepard

Ch 1: Down One Shepard, Up Shit Creek

The ship known as the SR2 Normandy had just landed on an oasis planet called Pritel, a nice tropical planet where people came to unwind after tough missions or life problems.

And the Normandy's crew, just returned from what many labeled a suicide mission. Luckily, the newly reborn Commander Angelique Shepard was leading the party, there were no casualties. She even handed in a very special two week notice to the man who funded the project that brought her back to life.

After destroying a Human Reaper fetus that was created from the liquefied remains of thousands of colonists, the Illusive Man told her to keep the Collector Base saying it was for the good for humanity.

After being sent in as bait to a derelict Reaper, being lied to straight to her face, and countless other infractions, the Illusive Man dared to give her the order to let technology that made such an abomination survive.

Letting her inner Renegade take over, Angel flipped the hologram off, Grunt chuckling at her answer. Garrus handed her the disc she needed to blow the base sky-high and hopefully into one of the many black holes or exploding suns that existed in Collector space.

Everything was a total success. After she gave her final report to the Illusive Asshole, Shepard slinked off and shared a great big glass of Serrice Ice Brandy with her good friend, Dr. Chakwas. Kasumi and Kelly even joined in. And Mess Sergeant Gardner made quite a spectacular feast for everyone. The man knows how to make a scrumptious steak.

Even though she knew the Reapers were closing in, Angel knew, the crew needed a break, they would not perform if they were exhausted mentally and physically. After the break on Pritel, they'd head to Omega for major repairs.

Angel correctly assumed, with Tali and Legion and even Garrus on the job, the major repairs would go smoothly. But for know, it was time for a two week shore leave.

She picked Pritel for its lovely scenery and countless clubs, restaurants and spas. She figured Thane would enjoy seeing the desert oasis.

For now, she wanted to go to her hotel room, and work off her frustrations with a special friend of hers.

Zaeed relaxed in a lounge chair in the residential suite that Shepard had reserved for them. When he arrived, he found a small box wrapped in black paper with a card labeled 'To: Zaeed' he opened it and found 12 pure Cuban cigars, Zaeed's personal favorite. To him, Cubans were the most flavorful, and he told that to her countless times after their trysts. Zaeed and Shepard were not a couple, not to them anyhow.

For one thing, Zaeed wasn't much one for romance. Second, Shepard recently had her heart broken by who she, at the time, assumed was her true love; Kaidan Alenko.

Zaeed was there to see the exchange and wanted to unload a full clip from his Mattock rifle in his pretty boy face. She also brought Garrus as well, and the Turian seemed close to feasting on the human for calling his friend and Commander a traitor.

About a week after the Horizon incident, Shepard showed up in Zaeed's room, a big bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses in her hands. He could tell she was fed up.

What really caught his attention was what she was wearing, it was the dress Kasumi got for her to help with her Hock break-in. He had to admit, Shepard filled it out to a T.

After she helped him with his Vido problem, Zaeed began to relax a little, knowing that little bastard was left to fry.

He noticed Angel had a bit of a buzz going, her blue eyes were clouded over and he knew it was from the booze. "What's on you're mind, Shepard?" the gruff voiced asked, downing another shot.

"Honestly? I just really need to blow off some steam. Jack puts it much more…eloquently though. She says I just need a man to fuck my brains out. Thinking about taking her advice. Know any suitable men that might be up for the job?" she asked in a seductive tone, making Zaeed smirk.

"Look no further, Commander." is all he said, pinning her to the wall, his rough lips claiming her unbelievably soft ones. Zaeed took her against the trash compactor, vowing to screw the memory of the prick out of her mind forever.

The gruff mercenary grinned at the very sweet and steamy memory. Shepard was now taking a shower after their mid-afternoon screw. Zaeed had joined her for a quick bathe and got dressed, they were gonna drink the night away at the Supernova, a popular bar/club that was conjoined in the hotel the entire crew was staying in.

Zaeed wanted to take Angelique all over again just seeing her in her new ensemble. She was wearing tight leather pants with a long sleeved, fishnet shirt with a black tank top. God those pants looked unbelievable on her.

Walking up to her with his confident swagger, Zaeed smacked her hard on the ass. "Let's go get shitfaced, Angel." he growled, nipping her left earlobe as her snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his body.

She just smiled and nibbled his neck as they made their way to the elevator to go to Supernova.

Once everyone knew that her and Zaeed were fuckbuddies, which with someone like Kelly Chambers on board it got around quick, Angelique noticed that Garrus, Thane and Jacob seemed put of about her choice of companionship. Well, she just wanted the comfort of a quick screw and Zaeed was more then happy to oblige.

What shocked her the most was that, after all was said and done, after somehow making it to the elevator and to her quarters, Zaeed stayed with her the whole night and they cuddled. It was a nice way to take her mind off HIM.

She was happy with Zaeed for now, even if they weren't in a real relationship. He made her feel like a woman, after each time she herself wanted to light up one of his post-sex cigarettes. And she loved his stories. She would sometimes compare Zaeed to Wrex, a strong soldier, had her back no matter what. She knew she could count on Massani.

The shore leave went wonderfully, spilling drinks with all the crew, shopping for everything she could with all her gal pals, all on the Illusive Man's tab while they still could. Also relaxing and pampering herself at the spa, she couldn't remember the name, but the massages were well worth the credits. She even broke down and got a manicure and pedicure, making her nails blood red.

And lets not forget her special treatment courtesy of the badass Zaeed Massani. She was screwed senseless every night. 'This type of shore leave is just what I needed.' she thought as she fell asleep after a particularly rough night.

Zaeed woke up the next morning and stretched, all his bones cracking into place as he did so. He moved his head to where Shepard was sleeping and his eyes went wide. "Where the fuck is she?" He bolted up, he always woke up before her.

After practically tearing their room apart, Zaeed, threw on some clothes and banged on every door on what was temporarily called the Normandy floor.

The main squad, the twelve that embarked on the Collector mission were now in the Normandy's meeting room. "She's gone? You lost her?" an angry Turian voice hollered, taloned fists slamming on the giant table, glaring at the human mercenary as everyone else absorbed the information.

"I didn't lose shit, Turian. How she snuck out without any of us plus the hotel's workers noticing is a much better question." Zaeed growled back, returning Garrus' glare.

"This fighting isn't getting us anywhere! Zaeed, Garrus, calm down. Fighting won't solve anything. The real question here is why did she just leave? That doesn't seem like Shepard." Miranda wondered, worry etched across her face.

EDI popped up on the table, "I have found a log from Commander Shepard, dated 3:45 a.m."

"Play it EDI." Jacob commanded, looking exhausted from having just woken up.

Without a word, a hologram of Angelique Shepard replaced EDI, her Collector armor on, helmet off, her brown hair just in a ponytail. "Sorry I left without notice guys, but I think I found something that just might help us against the Reapers! Once I get everything straightened out , I'll send the coordinates. I didn't want to risk losing all of you and the Normandy. Joker wouldn't forgive me if this one went down. While I'm gone, Garrus is in charge, treat him as you would treat me. I'll try to stay in touch as I can. Shepard out."

'Why the hell did she put me in charge?' Garrus panicked in his mind.

"So, any idea what we should do, Commander Vakarian?" Joker asked, adding the Commander bit in as a joke to lighten the mood.

The Turian just deadpanned. "How the hell should I know? Just spitball some ideas around." he sighed, running a hand along his fringe.

"I may have an idea that can help us." Miranda interjected, Garrus just nodded at her.

"Well, about fourteen years ago now, Cerberus began buying people to begin a super soldier project. However, when Commander Shepard died, the Illusive Man choose 11 of the best to fuse with a small strand of Shepard's DNA. But, when the Lazarus Project was looking up, he abandoned Project Phoenix. He didn't like putting all his eggs in one basket." she explained, pulling up her Omni-tool and displaying several Project Phoenix candidates.

"Which one do you recommend we go after?" Garrus asked, trying to look passed the fact that many of these people were just sold to be experimented on. It made his stomach churn.

Pushing another button on her Omni-tool, Miranda displayed what looked like a 6 year old girl. Several people felt nauseous at the thought of Cerberus experimenting on such a young girl, most notably, Thane. "What makes this lil brat so damned special?" Jack asked, her face indifferent.

"Her stats are off the chart, immense strength, intelligence and her biotics are on par with that of your's and Samara's. And, she's actually around twenty years old now. To top it off, her DNA took to Shepard's almost naturally. She was raised to be a Soldier class but gained the valuable skills of the Infiltrator class like that of our dear Commander."

"Cute kid. What's her name?" Kasumi asked, curiously.

"Anastasiya Faustin, mostly Russian on her father's side, Swedish from her mother. So, does this like a good place to start, Garrus?" Miranda asked, looking to her new Commander.

Even though he wanted to save the girl from Cerberus, he didn't see how this would help. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish by having us steal a Shepard clone?" he asked.

"The longer any of these clones are out, the more of Shepard's memories they gain, more then likely to help us maybe see if she can help there. And, if I recall, the Illusive Man had a…program installed in the Shepards that can track, for lack of a better term. After Shepard blew up the Collector base, I assume he would have used one of these to pose as Shepard and attempt to kill us all. If we need one, why not take the strongest?" she explained.

Garrus could tell she was hiding something, this was Miranda after all. "It seems to be our only choice. Give Joker the coordinates. We leave immediately." he announced, walking out to deal with the new role that had been thrown in his lap.


	2. Chapter 2: Retrieve Shepard 20

Mass Effect 3: Hunt for Shepard

Ch. 2: Retrieve Shepard 2.0

Garrus made his way to the Normandy's cockpit, making sure everything was going smoothly after the upgrades they were able to make on Pritel. "So, Joker, we're all set?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking into the emptiness of space.

"Yup, were just outside the Decoris system, the planet we're lookin for is Sanctum." Joker reported, pushing a few buttons and pulling up the specs on the Normandy. "Good thing Shepard had us make repairs while on leave. My baby's almost back to normal." the man beamed.

"Sanctum? That sounds familiar." Garrus pondered, a finger to his chin as the Decoris system came into view.

"It should. That was the planet where we found the false signal the Blue Suns would send merchant ships to raid them, Commander Vakarian." EDI chirped, catching the Turian's curiosity.

"Why would Cerberus put a cloning facility where mercs could easily just pillage the whole damn place?" he wondered out loud, mandibles close to his jaw in concentration.

"Actually, Garrus, the facility is near a mile underground, the entrance locked unless you happen to know the password, which I do. I think the team to go in should be you, me, Kasumi, Grunt and hopefully Mordin." Miranda explained, pulling up a schematic of the facility.

Garrus examined the digital blueprint, observant eyes mapping the whole place out in his mind. "Not a bad idea. What kind of resistance do you predict us running into, Miranda?" he asked, wanting to work out a plan in advance.

"More then likely just security mechs. The place has pretty much been abandoned after we recovered Shepard's body 3 years ago now. Ana will probably still be in her tank." she added.

Garrus titled his head ever so slightly, he knew humans only shortened each other's names if there was some type of attachment to said human. 'There has to be more to this then Miranda's letting on.' he told himself but pushed it out of his mind. "If we run into heavy mechs, perhaps Kasumi could reprogram a few to help transport the tank. Grunt more then likely can't more the whole thing himself." he suggested.

Miranda nodded with a smile on her face. "Also, she can wipe us from security banks, making it seem like we were never there, besides the missing clone. If it goes perfect, she may even be able to disable all the mechs."

"If we're just moving the tank, maybe Mordin should just wait here, him and Chakwas could get the lab ready to examine her."

"Probably better, she should get out of the tank and looked at as soon as possible. We'll be ready to go on your command, Garrus." she told the Turian, who dismissed her with a nod.

Garrus gave the group their orders, Mordin and Chakwas left immediately to set up the Med-bay to handle the situation, Legion helped move equipment.

Jack, Thane and Zaeed would be ground support should any remaining Blue Suns interfere. "Stay in contact, Thane, we may have enough problems should those mechs wake up." Garrus told the Drell assassin.

"Of course, none will reach the base." Thane pledged, bowing his head respectfully to his new commander.

The two squads packed into the Hammerhead, Thane's on one side, Garrus' on the other. Zaeed sat closest to the door, one of the Cubans Angelique got him between his scarred lips. Everyone noticed the mercenary's sour mood after she left. He wasn't even being a smartass anymore, just staying quiet.

Kelly told Garrus that she found a room where they could keep the girl, almost the size of Shepard's quarters. Garrus had a cot moved to the Main Batteries, still trying to adjust to his new role.

Angel obviously had faith in him. He led the second team through the Collector mission and everyone survived. He took a few deep breaths as the Hammerhead's doors opened. Miranda led them to the facility which looked like an abandoned factory.

She explained that Cerberus wanted the underground facility to never be discovered, so, the entrance was in the bowels of the factory. Thane, Jack and Zaeed were posted at strategic points around the factory's entrance, not to draw too much attention to the party.

Garrus along with Miranda, Kasumi and Grunt entered, after the master thief disabled the security with ease. "I could do this in my sleep." she grinned, rejoining her squad.

Grunt had been on edge, his battlemaster was gone. Would he have to pledge his loyalty to some copy? The Krogan ground his teeth and narrowed his ice blue eyes at the thought. Shepard had no equal. He knew this fact firsthand.

Miranda led the group down the very bottom basement floor where the cloning facility would be. The was a huge heavy mech guarding the door, a large metal door, the door open and the mech disabled. Miranda's eyes glared at the scene. "Someone's here." she whispered to her companions and drawing her Carnifex heavy pistol. Yes, the Phalanx was stronger, but she preferred the Carnifex.

Garrus readied his Mantis sniper rifle while Grunt pulled out his custom shotgun Shepard helped him make and Kasumi unholstered her Kassa Submachine gun. She loved taking such a rare weapon from her last break-in with who was now a very close friend of hers.

Moving passed the deactivated mech, Grunt leading the way to charge whoever dared stand in their path. He loved charging a victim then blasting them away with his shotgun, a deadly combo with his Krogan strength.

Not to mention, Krogan eyes can see in the dark better then a human and even a Turian.

His eyes darted around, his nostrils flaring, trying to find the intruder before it found them. He'd been itching for a fight. Sure he liked the vacation, but he was a Krogan through and through.

Kasumi cloaked herself, ready to take anyone the token Krogan didn't hit by surprise. "I don't smell anything here. Whoever was here, they're long gone." Grunt told the group. Kasumi stayed cloaked.

"They probably couldn't find the secret entrance, what one would normally see as a dungeon, only certain people can find the door." she smirked, walking up to the far wall of the concrete room.

The trio watched as she ran her hand along the wall, her smirk growing as she felt what she was looking for. She pushed a very small part of the wall in, a secret button that was now a glowing Cerberus symbol.

The wall opened enough for them to fit through, a hidden corridor. It went straight into the cloning facility. They were now in a large control room, several consoles lined the wall in front of them, allowing them to see into a large chamber with several tanks lining the walkway.

Miranda walked up to the door that separated the control room from the tanks and input a PIN code, opening the door, it was noticeably colder in the chamber.

'Why must it always be cold?' Garrus groaned in his head as he followed Miranda, who was heading towards the one tank that was at the end of the catwalk. Grunt took note that this tank was smaller then his.

Pulling up her Omni-tool, Miranda smiled, "This is her. Since she took to Shepard's DNA easier then the others, she was the one they…used the most." Garrus noticed the sadness in her tone at the time. He couldn't blame her, experimenting and genetically altering anyone let alone a child was sick.

"After we disconnect her from the life support tube that are attached to the tank, we have an hour to get her to the Normandy. So, I suggest taking the emergency service elevator, its much faster then retracing our steps trough the factory." Miranda told Garrus, punching in a few keys, getting the tank ready for detachment.

"Understood. Grunt, can you move this thing by yourself, I'll help if needed." Garrus asked, looking to the young Krogan.

"Of course. Besides, there's wheels on it, the tank'll do most of the work." Grunt pointed out, moving to the back of the tank. Each of them were curious as to how this clone would look, metal plating surrounded the entire tank. But that would have to wait, it was time to depart.

Miranda separated the last of the tubes, a bubbling sound heard from the tank. "Let's move, we don't have much time!" she announced, Grunt grabbing the bars on the side of the tank and quickly sliding it in front of him.

Garrus put a finger to his visor, connecting to Thane. "Thane, we've got her, Miranda will send you the coordinates where to bring the Hammerhead, pass them along to Joker immediately." Garrus ordered, running along after the Krogan who was taking his orders very seriously.

"Understood." was all Thane said.

Thankfully, there had been no Blue Suns mercs, much to the chagrin of Jack and Zaeed. "We have new orders." the Drell began after receiving the coordinates to pick the squad up and then passed them along to the Normandy.

The two resident psychopaths just nodded and hopped in the Hammerhead. They came upon a clearing that looked plain enough. Jack noticed a dip near the center of the field.

Suddenly, a hissing sound invaded the air and the grass parted to show a lift coming to the surface along with Garrus' group and a mid-size tank. "Is everything ready, Professor?" Thane asked on his headset.

"Yes, just finished. Anxiously awaiting arrival." the Salarian chirped, some excitement in his voice.

The group quickly loaded the tank and made the Hammerhead speed off to the Normandy. Time was of the essence.

Right when they arrived on the Crew Deck, Mordin and Dr. Chakwas were awaiting them. "Good, now must hurry. Extract clone from tank. Evaluate health." Mordin spoke quickly, Chakwas directing Grunt to the Med-Bay where they could sustain the girl while they acclimated her to her new environment.

"Much work to do. But challenge should be entertaining!" Mordin babbled as he and the doctor plugged her into the ship's network, filtering every type of vitamin and mineral she would need.

Miranda stayed with the doctors to monitor Anastasiya's progress. They had barely made it in time. Miranda sighed in relief, she wanted Ana alive. After all, she overlooked her growth personally. In a way, she was Ana's caretaker since Ana was 15.

'I can't wait to get you out of this tank, Ana. In way, I guess I see you as a daughter. After how you came to Cerberus, I wanted to care for you. Hopefully I can do right by you.' she thought to herself as she took notes of her heart rate and blood pressure.

"Clone will be hungry. Inform Rupert to make big meal." Mordin noticed her vitals out of the corner of his eye. "Time to act. She wants out now." he added, fingers moving quickly as Chakwas grabbed a thick blanket, ready to receive the clone, almost as if they were delivering a baby.

The tank was titled to where Ana would slide out into Chakwas' arms and into a warm blanket until the could get her an outfit. Mordin activated the tank, allowing it to drain.

After all the liquid was drained from the tank, a hatch opened the bottom of the tank to the world.

A wet pale body slid into the blanket and Dr. Chakwas quickly wrapped her in a bundle. Miranda grabbed a towel and began patting Ana's face dry.

Dr. Chakwas went pale as she looked over the young girl. "Problem, doctor?" Mordin asked, noticing her shocked appearance.

"Its almost scary…this girl is a spitting image of our Commander Shepard…" she gasped softly.


	3. Chapter 3: Rebirth

Mass Effect 3: Hunt for Shepard

Ch 3: Rebirth

The small body of Anastasiya Faustin now drew breath for the first time in years. While in the Cerberus tank, she was in a comatose state. It felt wonderful and painful at the same time.

As she would breathe, her lungs would itch and make her cough. "Lungs too weak. Breathing problematic!" she heard a fast-talking voice exclaim and heard what she thought must have been movement.

"Dr. Chakwas, put her on the table!" she heard a familiar feminine voice order as she was lifted and placed on a hard surface.

Shivering, Ana curled into the blanket as she coughed some more from her lungs needing oxygen. "Move her head please." the fast-talking voice commanded, feeling something strange on her mouth.

"What are you giving her?" Miranda asked, concerned about her ward.

"Small steroid. Lungs very weak." Mordin answered, plugging an IV into the female human. He noticed she didn't twitch from the prick of the needle until a few seconds after it was in place. "Hmm. Delayed reaction time. Not good." the Salarian watched her vitals on the screen next to the table Ana was on.

"Heart beating fast. Expected. Body acclimatizing. Needs vitamins, minerals. Sustenance. Miranda. Tell Gardner to make big meal. Clone will be starving."

"Do I have to leave?" Miranda asked, not wanting to leave Ana. Not that she didn't trust the two more then capable doctors.

Mordin noted Miranda's stance. 'Motherly? No, not that strong. Perhaps views clone as sibling? Interesting.'

"Not turning you away. Just tell him to make a meal with proteins and carbohydrates. Best to start light. Recommend soup."

"And start her off with water, Ms. Lawson. Her digestive system will be very sensitive for a while. Like Mordin says, we need to keep her diet light for now." Dr. Chakwas added, a closet and pulling out a hospice gown.

Miranda nodded and left the Med-Bay as the metal shutters went up, blocking bystanders from seeing the barely-conscious girl nude.

Heels clicking on the metal floor, Miranda walked over to where Mess Sergeant Gardner usually stayed, right by the kitchen. "Evening, Officer Lawson, can I help you?"

"Yes, I need an order of chicken noodle soup, please." she requested.

"That's simple enough. I take it its for the kid?" he asked as he gathered ingredients from the cupboards to make the soup.

"Yes. The doctors suggest she eat light for now while she adjusts to being out of the tank. Its been so long since I've seen Ana. She's grown up quite a bit." she smiled, remembering the small child she used to watch over.

Sure, the two have never truly interacted due to Ana being in that tank since she came to Cerberus. But, she watched over the child for 8 years.

Ana's lungs were not hurting as much now. Her breaths were coming out much smoother, which calmed the two doctors checking her vitals. "It looks as if she will be just fine. She just needs proper nutrition and plenty of rest." Dr. Chakwas said, pulling a pair of pyjamas out of the closet to dress the girl.

"Have DNA, will test to see if any problems will occur. Genetic or otherwise." Mordin announced, leaving to begin his testing.

*A week later*

Mordin had found no history of illness in the Faustin family, and Ana herself was given a clean bill of health.

The main crew of the Normandy would always glance into the infirmary to see the new Shepard. Since she hadn't opened her eyes yet, they all saw her as a younger version of their missing Commander.

Garrus was in the Forward Batteries, making sure the guns were calibrated after the extensive repairs they had made on Pritel. "Garrus, we're in orbit of Omega. Ready to dock at your command." Joker announced over the intercom.

Raising a talon to his headset, "Got it, I'm gonna swing by the Med-Bay to check on Ana." he told the helmsman, walking out of his usual hang out.

The rest of the crew were doing their usual day-to-day activities and making sure the Normandy was up to speed. He entered the Med-Bay and saw Dr. Chakwas, Mordin and Miranda were around the cot that they had Ana stay while they examined her. He hadn't seen her out and about yet. "Ahh, Garrus, glad you're here." Miranda smiled, turning to face the Turian.

"You said you want to take her out with us to Omega?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking over to the human.

"Yes, she actually has been undergoing physical therapy and can walk and talk. Mordin even had her go through some…education while she was regaining her strength. So, she will know about all the sentient species she'll encounter." Dr. Chakwas explained, making her way towards a sleeping Ana.

Garrus just watched as the human doctor began waking the young girl up. They were to start introducing Ana to the world outside the Med-Bay and the Normandy. 'I know she needs to get used to everything but, why start at Omega? Why not the Citadel where its safer?' he wondered as he heard a strange breathy sound come from the clone.

He summoned Zaeed as well, he figured himself, Miranda and the aging mercenary would be able to keep an eye on Ana.

Garrus turned his head to see Zaeed enter the Lab, and gave a curt nod to the human male. He was still a tad peeved that Shepard chose a man like Zaeed to be her mate. Over the years he's known the human Spectre, he's grown a large amount of respect and admiration towards her, after his near-death experience, that friendship turned to love and affection.

Angelique Shepard was a strong woman, not even death stopped the Paragon. Or Paragade as she called it. "Mostly good with s smidge of bad girl. Everything balances out." she told him with a cheeky grin.

He could see why the woman got along a little too well with Aria T'Loak. Both arrogant, over-confident and tough as hell. He remembered the days they'd spend on Omega spilling drinks with the Asari.

Mordin cleared his throat, immediately receiving the Turian's attention. His head snapped back to the clone and his eyes went wide, mouth dropping open slightly. How had he never noticed how eerily similar the two looked. 'I shouldn't be surprised, this Ana girl is supposed to be a clone of the original.' Spirits that felt odd to say.

"Miranda, if you will." Mordin commanded to the ex-Cerberus loyal, who nodded in response and knelt next to the young girl's ear.

"Its time to wake up, Ana." she whispered in a motherly voice. In a split-second, her body began to move, back arching as she stretched and yawned.

Ana's eyes fluttered open, only to snap shut again. "The light!" she cried out in a soft yet childish voice, hands covering her eyes.

Mordin gasped and rushed over to the overhead lights, quickly muttering an apology. "Miranda, armor arrived yesterday, ready for use." Mordin told the woman.

"Standard Terminus System armor? I believe that is a nice place to start for her. Garrus, Zaeed, please meet us at the shuttle." Miranda told the men who just walked out, ready to get to work finding their Commander.

"Did you see the color of that's girl's eyes?" Zaeed asked, leaning against the shuttle.

"A pale gold. Is that uncommon amongst your race?" Garrus inquired, wondering what the mercenary's point was.

"Not without surgery. What was Cerberus thinking, experimenting on a girl her age." Garrus could understand perfectly, the pro-human organization…acquired Anastasiya when she was only 6 years old and had her tanked and experimented on her since.

Garrus had nothing to say to Zaeed's question. Why would Cerberus care about something like eye color? And wouldn't they want her to have the same eye color as the source DNA?

Moments later, Miranda and the newly armored Ana. "Ana, these men are our comrades, Garrus Vakarian and Zaeed Massani." Miranda said, a hand on the girl's shoulder.

Garrus took note that Ana was the same height as Miranda and had somewhat the same build. Ana titled her head in confusion at Garrus who raised an eye ridge in response.

"So that's what a Turian looks like up close?" she asked in child-like awe. Garrus almost felt the need to face palm or groan, he got this reaction with children before.

"He looks so cool!" she cheered, running up to the Turian and hugging him, almost knocking the poor guy over. He looked to Miranda, confused as to how to handle this situation. This wasn't the usual reaction he received from children.

"She has always been extremely curious and affectionate. One reason why I like her so much." Garrus noted that the woman caught herself on the word 'like'.

"Sorry, Mr. Vakarian, Turians really interest me." she apologized, looking at her feet which were drawn together, the left tracing circles in the ground.

"Now, Ana, we are heading to Omega to finish some repairs to the ship. We decided to take you with us so you can begin to learn. Don't wander away from either me, Garrus or Zaeed. Understood?" Miranda instructed as a mother would to a child.

"Yes, Miranda. Whoaa! That's Omega?" Ana ran to the window that was in between Zaeed and Garrus, the two men just staring at her in skepticism. Was this girl really a super soldier? So far, it was hard to believe.

"Yes Ana. We are also meeting up with Aria T'Loak, she runs Omega. Be careful around her."

"Oh I think I remember her from Uncle Mordin. She's an Asari. Sounds fun!" her attention was mostly on Omega as they began docking.

As the shuttle landed and the door finally opened, the armor-clad Ana darted out, Miranda dashing after her immediately, leaving the men in their wake. "I can believe this shit. How is that girl a super soldier?" Zaeed grumbled as they began to follow the girls.

"Well, her profile did say that she's been in a tank virtually her whole life. Maybe her body has a lot of catching up to do." Garrus guessed, shrugging his shoulders as they found the two females outside Afterlife, Miranda scolding Ana.

"Garrus, you and me should go check and see if Aria is available. Zaeed, can you look after Ana?" Miranda asked, a hand around the girl's wrist.

"Yeah sure. Why the hell not." Zaeed sighed as Ana bounced over to him.

It was an odd sight, a bubbly girl in badass Terminus armor. "We're gonna check out the market. See you later." Zaeed said, dragging the girl behind him without a say from her.

Him and Ana were looking over different guns. "Wonder if I could get a new one. The one Miranda gave me looks lame." she moaned, eyeing a Carnifex.

Zaeed shook his head. How could she know? "Its not the look of the gun, girl. Its how you use it." he explained.

She just nodded along as he explained. He heard he tinkering with her Omni-Tool. He heard barely heard her next sentence. "Ooohh….Zaeed! Look what I can do!"

Too absorbed in looking through Assault Rifle mods, "Yeah, real interesting, Ana." he grumbled.

Things suddenly grew quiet as he continued to look through the digital catalogue. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Garrus and Miranda coming back up to him, both looking agitated. "What's wrong, her majesty's not available?" he asked.

"No. She's not seeing anyone for at least a week." Garrus growled in annoyance. With the new responsibilities thrown at him, he's been rather testy lately. He couldn't see how Shepard could handle it day in and day out.

"Zaeed…where did Ana run off to?" Miranda asked in a worried tone.

"What are you talking about. The little runt hasn't move-" He cut himself out after he turned around and saw not one female in Terminus armor in his vicinity. "…Ahh fuck."


End file.
